Ten Fall landmarks from my life

1986, at school. Hearing U.S. 80’s – 90’s on the 6th Form ghetto blaster (it played LPs in an upright position!) and immediately feeling my life change forever.

1987, at Wolves Poly (Dudley site). Being harangued in the student union by a chap who’d seen The Fall supporting U2 about how terrible they were, he was really angry and upset, and seemed to think I personally had something to do with it. I laughed.

Waiting in Wimpy in Dudley, February 1987, for the copies of The Frenz Experiment to arrive in the adjacent HMV with my fellow Fall-freak David. We kept going over all morning to check. Got so distracted I put sugar on my chips.

Meeting Brix outside Birmingham Hummingbird, before their gig in March 1988. She was standing in the door of the Fall tour bus, I got her autograph.

Kandi Klub, Bristol Bierkeller. The DJ stopped the music – stopped the music! – to harangue me about always requesting The Fall, who were according to him ‘a bunch of dinosaurs.’ In 1993…

Meeting Mark E. Smith in the Seven Stars before their Bristol Fleece and Firkin gig in December 1999.

My 2013 Fall Odyssey, 3 gigs on 3 consecutive nights in May: Cardiff, Bristol, then Fal(l)mouth. The latter was one of the best Fall gigs I have ever attended.

Having to leave the February 2017 Cardiff Tramshed gig early to get the last train back to Bristol. Little did I know at the time I would never see them again.

That Bristol Fiddlers gig, November 2017. The anticipation. The speculation. The devastation. The beginning of the end.

Now, today. Realising that this is not the end, the music will be there forever, and although he is dead and gone, his vibrations will live on.